Room at the American Table
What Thanksgiving teaches us about family, gratitude, and keeping the Great Experiment alive
BY HEATHER REID
or many years,
we’ve traveled for
the Thanksgiving
holiday and had the honor of being guests at my cousin’s table for the big event. When we arrive in Ohio, my family makes a complicated day look effortless. The turkey is perfect, as are the mashed potatoes. Gravy is carefully prepared, and there are always these great pecan rolls from a local bakery that we try to snatch before we actually sit down to eat. The table looks lovely, and it’s so special. Like I said, they make it look easy
This year, we’re staying home and playing the host ourselves, and I’m equal parts excited and anxious. I’ve cooked The Meal before, so I know what’s involved. My Pinterest board is full of ideas from appetizers to desserts, and I ordered the turkey in the first week of November. My kids weighed in on what’s sacred (turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls) and what can be “left out” (cranberry sauce, any other vegetables). I love a classic green bean and mushroom soup casserole with fried onions on top (sorry, not sorry), and I like homemade cranberry sauce, even if nobody else does.
My family also had its own cranberry tradition: cranberry Jell-O with whole cranberry sauce and strawberries, set in a domed Tupperware mold and served with a sweetened sour cream dressing. Would it release from the mold in one piece of ruby-colored glory?
F